Learning from what we teach

Like many of the 1301 instructors, I never actually took the course I am now teaching. Consequently, I have learned so much through my teaching. I have always had a natural sense about grammar. Somehow, I know where the commas go and how to make the sentence sound right, but I never knew the actual rules of grammar. Now I find myself having to learn those rules, mostly so I can explain to the students what they are doing wrong when I am grading. It doesn't help them for me to say, "It just doesn't sound right." I will resort to "awkward" when I just don't know what's wrong. However, I am making an effort to find the rule to support the revisions I am suggesting. For me, this is important. I feel like I need to base my suggestions on some sort of foundation. As a result, I am learning so much about grammar.

I am also learning that the skills we possess as "English people" truly are special and remarkable. Because we're around each other all the time and because we are all great writers, sometimes I tend to forget or take for granted the power of writing. Seeing my students struggle for hours just to write a thesis statement makes me recognize my own talent and the ways in which I can share that talent with others.

We can become reflective practitioners simply by thinking about the ways we teach. I think about my perspective before I began teaching (highly idealistic) and my perspective now, which is much more realistic because I actually have some experience. By reflecting on how I have developed (or not developed) as a teacher, I can plan on improving next semester. Specifically, one of my goals is improve the way I conduct group activities. I want to try to develop more sequencing in these activities than I have done this year, so hopefully, the students will gain more from the experience.